The present invention relates to microsurgical instruments and more particularly to a blade design for an ophthalmic microsurgical scissors.
During ophthalmic microsurgery, it is often necessary to cut, delaminate and/or dissect thin, fibrous neovascular membranes located adjacent to the retina. The preferred device for cutting such membranes are microsurgical scissors. These scissors must be able to cut tissue cleanly, without grabbing or pulling the tissue because of the close proximity of the tissue to the retina. The blades of such microscissors must also be able to withstand extremely high loads without breaking.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,258,716 (Sutherland), 4,877,026 (deLaforcade) and 5,263,958 (deGuillebon, et al.) disclose microscissors suitable for ophthalmic surgery. None of these references, however, disclose the unique blade design of the present invention.
Accordingly, a need continues to exist for a microscissors that cuts cleanly and without grabbing the tissue being cut.